Room by Emma DonoghueMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Generally speaking, "Room" is my kind of book. It takes a twisted mind to write it and an equally twisted mind to enjoy it.
Honestly, I was turned off by one particular review before I even started reading it and I would mostly say I agreed. The book is written from the perspective of a 5-year-old, so it can be very frustrating to read and I couldn't follow some things because of the grammar. I almost feel like Donoghue doesn't give 5-year-old's enough credit, but I don't spend enough time with children in that age group to truly back that up. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that, as a best-selling author, she must have done her research. There were some inconsistencies mentioned by the aforementioned reviewer, such as how Jack refers to vomit as "stuff falling out of her mouth," but then calls it vomit for the rest of the book when it's never actually explained to him. However, it didn't bother me as much.
I must admit that I was pretty impressed with Ma's creativity in all the ways she managed to teach and entertain her son in the confines of an 11x11 ft room. There were a few spots that actually had me tearing up a little, which isn't easy for an author to bring me to. For some reason, I can't bring myself to say that I "love" this book, but I can't think of too much I didn't like about it. The story was intriguing enough; especially during the "Great Escape," I seriously couldn't read fast enough. Warning: that whole chapter was insanely anxiety provoking.
If it was possible, I would give it 3.5 starts and would definitely recommend it to the right person.
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I thought I would enjoy this book as I'm an early childhood education major, because as you mentioned, "Donoghue doesn't give 5-year-old," children enough credit. It seemed interesting but I couldn't get past the first couple of pages due to the feeling of "dumbing" down a child's thoughts. That's it, just wanted to agree with you. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was definitely difficult at some points. The story kept me going, but I certainly don't blame you for not being able to stick with it, especially with your background!
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